There are a variety of conventional techniques for connecting an electronic device having pins to a printed circuit board having corresponding plated through holes (PTHs). Examples of such connecting techniques include wave soldering, intrusive reflow soldering, and compression fit pin schemes.
Unfortunately, each of these conventional connecting techniques makes subsequent removal of the electronic device from the printed circuit board difficult and problematic. For example, it is manually intensive effort to protect both the printed circuit board and the electronic device from damage when reworking a circuit board after assembly. Often the stresses inflicted during device removal (intense local heating to remove solder, high extraction force to pry compression fit pins from their PTHs, etc.) result in damage to the electronic device, the printed circuit board, or both.
Some conventional alternatives to the above-described conventional connecting techniques involve the use of a compliant conductive sleeve having (i) a body with an outwardly bowed (i.e., convex) shape or an inwardly bowed (i.e., concave) shape and (ii) a flanged section which perpendicularly extends from a central axis of the body at one end of the body. During use, the body of the compliant conductive sleeve fits around a device pin and compresses within a PTH. The flanged section lays flat against the flattened top of the PTH to prevent the body from inserting too far into the PTH. An apparatus similar to the above-described conventional compliant conductive sleeve is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,277,297, the entire teachings of which are hereby incorporated by reference.